19. Connor
Jess slams her iPad shut and I watch the red crawl up her cheeks. “I am…so sorry about her,” she says hurriedly as she grabs her coat from the closet behind her front door.
I try not to appear as unnerved as I am since she’s so obviously unsure of what to do. But seeing her in that dress and those heels when she opened the door caused a short-circuit somewhere in my brain and I can’t seem to recover from it.
After talking with Anna, however, and watching Jess shift awkwardly from one foot to the other—her demeanor betraying any confidence her dress might have implied—I remind myself that she needs to feel comfortable above everything else. So that means I need to get my head on straight. No man wants to be the reason a woman throws up.
“She’s hilarious, don’t apologize. It’s good to have friends who look out for you,” I answer.
Jess rolls her eyes and smiles. “She is the best, and I adore her. But she doesn’t really have an indoor voice, so sometimes I wish I didn’t tell her things.”
“Hot Connor’s lips are sealed.” I grab her coat and hold it up for her to put on.
“I’m going to kill her,” Jess mutters as she puts her arms through the coat and buttons up the front. “Thank you,” she says. “Now,” with renewed confidence, she spins to face me and reaches up to put both her hands on my shoulders. “Are you ready for this?” she asks in a slow, smoky voice.
My heart stops briefly. I’m not sure what she’s referring to, but it sounds sexy. “Uh…”
“Price,” she squeezes. “Now is not the time for your conviction to waiver. You’re going into the trenches with me, man. I need to know you’re ready for battle. My coworkers are next-level interrogators.”
I laugh. “Oh, that.”
She looks at me in question. “What did you think I was talking about?”
“What?”
“What?”
“Nothing…I was just…I’m ready.” Jesus, Connor. “Trust me, I live in board rooms with angry executives. I’m not afraid of a little scrutiny from your five coworkers.”
“Aw,” she says, patting my cheek. “That’s cute.” Then she pulls her cell phone out and taps a few times. “The Uber should be here in about five minutes.”
“Are you sure you want to pay for an Uber? I really don’t plan on having more than a couple of beers.”
“Nope, no driving for us. Better safe than sorry.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “No argument here.”
“Did you want me to get a bottle of water or something for you while we wait?”
“Nah, I’m good. Thanks, though.”
We stand in the entryway together in silence, both doing that thing people do when they purse their lips and nod their heads. I don’t know what that’s about.
But it’s awkward as hell.
“Do you, um, do you want to go outside and just wait out there?” she asks.
“Yeah, that’s fine. It’s not too cold.”
“Good deal,” she smiles and rolls her eyes at herself as we step onto the porch. She locks the front door behind us and we continue our uncomfortable silence in a newer, chillier environment.
“Did you do anything exciting today?” I wonder.
She laughs nervously. “Can’t say that I did, unfortunately. Unless you consider my trip to the grocery store exciting. Which obviously you don’t because…well…nobody does.”
“I don’t know, sometimes the produce section can get pretty rowdy.” I don’t even know what that means. What is wrong with me right now? I scramble to recover. “I just?—”
“The Uber’s here.”
“Oh, thank god.”
The passenger window rolls down as we approach the car, and Jess leans down to speak to the driver. “Hi, are you Callum?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Callum smiles. “Jessica?”
“That’s me, thank you!” We climb into the back of the Prius and it suddenly feels like a clown car; Jess is practically sitting in my lap. Or maybe I’m sitting in hers, it’s hard to tell. But either way, it adds an extra layer of discomfort to this whole situation. On the plus side, I can smell the floral scent of her perfume without having to inhale deeply around her like a creeper.
Callum ends up being quite the talker, which is usually my least favorite thing about taking an Uber, but in this case I’m grateful for it. While he and Jess go on and on about the Broncos and increasing traffic in the city, I strategize on how to remember what it’s like having an adult conversation with a beautiful woman.
When we step into the restaurant, the hostess escorts us to a reserved room in the back, where we’re the first to arrive.
“What sounds good to start the evening?” I ask as we approach the makeshift bar off to the left.
“I think I’ll stick with wine,” she decides. “Can I have a glass of the Cab please?”
“I’ll take a Stella,” I add.
With drinks in hand, we make our way to one of the large, empty tables set up for the group.
“I feel like maybe we got off to a clumsy start,” I begin. “It’s my fault. I saw you standing there in that dress and all intelligent thoughts completely flew out of my head.”
She smiles and looks down at her wine glass. “Well, I can’t say that I was any better when I saw you standing there looking like Captain America in a tailored suit.”
“I guess we both clean up nice, then.” I raise my bottle to toast, “Here’s to great company.”
“I’ll drink to that,” she clinks her glass to my beer and locks her eyes with mine as we both take a drink. Then she glances around the empty room, still looking slightly uneasy despite my confession. “Alex always hated coming to these kinds of things with me,” she admits. “He never tried making conversation with people. I actually used to tell him he didn’t have to come along, but he always insisted, and then was cranky the whole night. Oh my god, I’m sorry; I should not be talking about my ex-husband right now.”
“Jess, please, it doesn’t bother me at all.”
That’s when I realize that she truly believes I’m only here because of a lie she accidentally told. That it’s out of obligation, or maybe some warped sense of chivalry, instead of me genuinely wanting to spend time with her. So she’s afraid I can just as easily ruin the night the same way Alex used to.
No. That doesn’t work for me.
Jess clearly cares for these people based on the way she’s talked about them over the last several days. If they’re important to her, then they’re important to me. I can’t mess this up for her. I’ve been to plenty of big networking events before, this is a cakewalk.
“Listen, I don’t want you to feel like you have to babysit me,” I assure her. “This is the work world, okay? This is my circle of comfort.”
Whatever preoccupation was on her mind seems to fade away and she smiles back gratefully.
“First to arrive as usual!” A large male voice enters the room, and it belongs to a not-as-large man. Stout is the best word I can think of to describe him, with thinning hair and a slight paunch. His date, however, looks like she stepped off the Victoria’s Secret runway, and I’m having a hard time reconciling them together.
“Hey, Anderson!” Jess stands up and gives the man a hug. I follow and shake his hand with a firm grip that he returns in kind. “This is my boyfriend, Connor,” Jess states proudly, like I’m a GQ cover model. “Connor, this is my boss, Anderson Richards.”
“Connor, a pleasure to meet you. So glad to see Jess has finally found a man worthy of her attention.”
“Well, I hope to prove as much, thank you.”
“This is my lovely date, Cayenne.”
Yeah, that makes sense.
“Cayenne! What a lovely name,” Jess politely shakes the leggy woman’s hand.
“Thank you! It works on stage and off, so my parents really knew what they were doing!”
Jess’ eyebrows raise and she nods in agreement. “Yes, they certainly did.”
The rest of the company starts to trickle in, and I meet the whole crew. Ben and his husband Matt seem like the most normal. Married, equally talkative, very at ease with everyone here. Then there’s Jim and his girlfriend, Kayla. Not married or cohabitating despite being in a long-term relationship, Jim strikes me as a bit clueless, but overall amiable, while Kayla’s so needy that I can’t believe she’s content not living with him. Kennedi is all too happy to share her opinions on anything and everything, while her husband, Paul, seems practically mute, so that balances out. And lastly there’s Sammie, who barely looks old enough to drive, let alone drink, although she’s extremely kind and seems to have the most genuine concern for Jess. Her date’s name is Ollie, but I only know that because I introduced myself to him; Sammie doesn’t seem interested in being in his proximity. He has obviously done some “pre-partying” before their arrival based on his inability to control the volume of his voice.
With every introduction, the word “boyfriend” slips past Jess’ lips more easily and her body inches closer to mine. By the time we’re instructed to take a seat at one of the two large tables set for dining, I have my arm around her waist and am placing a kiss on the top of her head. I don’t know what she was so nervous about before, this is the easiest job I’ve ever had.